Reflections on International Women’s Day 2021

An equal everyday is a better everyday. 

This principle is core to the foundation on which IKEA Canada’s business is built. Our co-workers welcome the opportunity and responsibility to close the gender gap at home and work. International Women’s Day offers us an uplifting moment to reflect on the many achievements and contributions women make to every facet of our lives. International Women’s Day is also a reminder of how much work we have left to do to realize full equality. 

Recently, national media reports have exposed serious, ongoing gender disparity at the highest levels of Canadian business, government, and academia. This persistent inequity that still separates men and women at many organizations, demonstrates why we need to continue to take action. 

One year into a pandemic that has disproportionately impacted women and driven thousands from the workforce, we can’t afford to lose more ground. The pandemic is challenging to be sure and organizations must continue pushing for progress. It’s not just a moral imperative; it’s a business one, too. 

It’s clear to us that gender equality is good for business. It has a positive impact on talent recruitment and retention, brand perception, and customer loyalty. Diverse and inclusive teams are more creative and innovative, as members challenge each other to think and act differently. And research shows that companies with gender diversity in leadership have better financial performance. 

Equality is a human right. Globally, IKEA is committed to reaching gender balance throughout the entire organization by 2022—and at IKEA Canada today, 51% of our leadership and 51% of our coworkers identify as female.  

Our journey to this point has been encouraging and essential. It is also a journey that continues. We will use our insights as a compass to accelerate our progress including: 

• Commitment from those at the top: Achieving a gender balanced workforce requires an actively engaged and supportive management team and if applicable, board of directors. There can be no progress without accountability. 
• Values-based accountability: We engage all our co-workers—everyone, from customer service representatives to fulfillment managers to senior leaders—in ongoing inclusivity training and dialogue. Within all of our 19 business units nationwide, we’re constantly working to identify and eliminate barriers that prevent coworkers from achieving success.
• Meaningful partnerships: IKEA Canada is part of the Gender Equality Leadership Project, a Global Compact Network Canada venture designed to eliminate barriers faced by women in the workplace. We’re a proud supporter of Catalyst - Workplaces That Work For Women, a global non-profit that supports positive change by removing barriers for women in the workforce. We’ve also supported the Canadian Women’s Foundation and Women’s Shelters Canada, whose incredible work is regularly a source of inspiration for me and my team. 
• Proactive and agile solutions: Before COVID-19, women already spent 50% more time on unpaid work than men. As a business, we’re keenly aware that the pandemic has exacerbated inequality and made it more difficult for women to fully participate in the workforce. Responses like flexible paid wellness days during this time (and temporarily waiving probationary periods for new coworkers), compensating parents for scheduled time even when they needed to balance work and child care needs, and empowering people to work from home when possible enabled our coworkers to maintain better work-life balance in the face of deep disruption. These solutions can become the norm, not the exception, and ideally, businesses can prioritize proactivity over reaction.  

Part of any leader’s job is ensuring every member of the team — including and especially women — has room to grow, to thrive, and to lead. It’s fundamental to business success. Sometimes, it means challenging biased behaviours and structures; other times, it means making space for women to lead their teams and enrich our business with their experience. 

To my fellow leaders in Canada’s business community: I encourage you to actively invest in evolving corporate culture and choose to challenge the status quo. 

Our customers and communities expect it of us—and we expect it of ourselves.